Servicing Utopia: CPD opportunity on inclusive design

We are currently offering two free CPD opportunities to architectural practices on the topic of accessible toilet design – the first is a project launch event for ‘Servicing Utopia’ on Monday 18th April, 12-4pm, and the second is a 1.5 hour lunchtime seminar for Part 1 students.

We see the toilet as a design challenge, which can be responded to creatively and innovatively and this vision frames the CPD opportunities.

These opportunities draw on insights gained from a research project (led by Sheffield Hallam, University of Sheffield and University of Leeds), namely Around the Toilet, which worked with trans, queer and disabled people to explore the complex question of what it means to have access to safe and comfortable toilet spaces. Around the Toilet revealed that a lack of adequate toilet facilities has profound implications for many people in terms of their ability to access events and activities, engage with work, travel within towns and cities, and integrate within communities.

Architects and architectural assistants will engage with the experiences of diverse toilet users regarding issues of accessing toilet spaces within buildings and cities. They will understand more about the kinds of design considerations that these different toilet users consider to be important.

The discussions that come out of the event and lunchtime seminar will inform the design of a Toilet Toolkit for architects and designers. Through the toolkit we aim to engage more architects with the issues of access that have come out of our research. All architecture practices involved in the project will have access to the toilet toolkit which is due to available from July 2016.

The afternoon event brings together community partners from the research project with planners, architects and designers to critically interrogate the toilet design process. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. The event will include a series of short presentations about issues of access to safe and comfortable toilet spaces. Insights from these presentations will inform a workshop, led by Tom Gayler an information experience designer from the Royal College of Art, to reimagine Part M of the building regulations. Further details can be found on our eventbrite page here.

Lunchtime seminar

The seminars will take place within local architecture practices in May and are aimed at Part 1 students. They will draw on the insights gained from the launch event to enable architectural assistants to think critically and creatively about toilet design and issues of access more broadly.